


Room at the Inn

by TinCanTelephone



Series: From Tumblr, With <3 [28]
Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst and Fluff, Bickering, Cuddling, F/M, Fluff, Minor Injuries, Pre-Relationship, Sharing a Bed, Snowed In, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, approximation of a mission fic, low-key angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2019-10-12 21:04:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17474951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinCanTelephone/pseuds/TinCanTelephone
Summary: Grounded on Toloran, Jyn and Cassian are forced to spend the night at a fancy little inn. Neither of them are quite sure what to do with the luxury.Sometimes sleeping arrangements are trickier than battlefields…





	1. Jyn

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AstridMyrna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstridMyrna/gifts).



> So I wrote this for @thegiddyowl in exchange for what I thought was going to be a cute little ficlet but turned into an 8K SAGA (read [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17378405/chapters/40897943), it's awesome)
> 
> Point being I still owe her lol. 
> 
> But here's my first (lame) attempt to repay the favor!

“No. _No._ Fuck–” In a rare display of frustration, Cassian plowed forward through the knee-deep snow to rattle the spaceport’s outer gate, on which a sign was posted reading, _Closed due to inclement weather_. _All transports canceled._

Jyn stood behind him, arms wrapped around herself against the cold and blinking snow out of her eyelashes. She listened as Cassian swore a blue streak in Festian and watched the wheels turn in his head as he tried to find a universe in which they were not stuck on Toloran. He didn’t find one, of course. The storm had come up on their radar suddenly, leaving them no time to plan around the meeting with Cassian’s contact on the other side of the city. With limited options, they walked all day across town anyway, praying to the Force that they’d make it before the clouds got too thick.

Clearly, the Force didn’t see fit to answer them.

Jyn sighed and wondered whether she should suggest they turn around and find someplace to spend the night. But she wasn’t inclined to open herself to any more snappish comments and starting yet another argument. Sleep deprived after waking up early to scout the meeting location and exhausted after walking ten klicks through the snow, their tempers were both on a short fuse. Cassian in particular became irritable in the cold, and had been openly limping for hours as his bad leg stiffened up.

Eventually, he turned around and muttered, “Let’s find someplace to stay.”

Jyn followed him without comment, disappointed but not surprised to see his breath hitch with each step.

 

Of course, the closest place to sleep was a fancy little inn near the base of one of the city’s many repulsor-ski slopes. They stood outside for a minute, each silently debating whether it would be worth it to walk further out to someplace cheaper. Jyn was prepared to physically restrain Cassian if he thought so. She was not letting him push his leg even farther past its limit in this weather, and she was losing feeling in her fingers through her pockets. But luckily he seemed to see reason as well and they trudged up to the door.

He slapped the credit chip on the front desk, scaring the wits out of the bored-looking twi’lek. “We’ll take your cheapest room for one night.”

The poor girl shrank under his glare and tapped a few keys on her computer. “The cheapest room available is 250 credits per night.”

“Fine.”

“Very good, sir.” She took their credits and handed them two cards. “Room 324, here are your keys, please enjoy your–”

“Thank you.” Cassian spun on his heel and stalked towards the turbolift.

Jyn followed, pressing her nails to the pads of her fingers.

 

As soon as they were in the room, Cassian turned up the temperature to 25 degrees and filled the ice bucket with warm water from the tap. He set it on the table and gestured for her to sit.

“Put your hands in that before you get frostbite.”

She gave him a mocking solute and clicked her heels before shucking off her jacket and vest. “Yes, sir.”

His jaw clenched but he didn’t retort.

“Let’s get room service.” Jyn nodded towards the data pad on the wall near the door. “I’m starving.” _And I’ll bet you are too._

Her hands in water, he limped over to the panel. “What do you want?”

“Mmm, ground nerf chili.”

“That’s 18 credits per bowl.”

“With Coruscanti cheese on top.”

“Come on, Jyn.”

“Fine, get me a bantha burger.”

He grunted and tapped the data pad.

“With all the fixings.”

“Their service ended thirty minutes ago.”

Of course. It would be a major disturbance in the Force if they got away from rations for just one evening.

He closed the menu and sat at the table across from her.

“Do you need something for your leg?” she said. Even seated, he was holding it awkwardly and his shoulders were stiff with pain.

“No.”

“Maybe a hot shower?”

“No.”

Jyn didn’t know why she tried. He was absolutely impossible when he got like this, cranky and stubborn and self-destructive. “Fine, or you can just be a _schutta_.”

There was a brief staring contest, until Cassian stood with a huff and limped towards the shower. “Fine.”

“Take your time,” she said. “They probably have those water jet things that massage your back.”

“Hm.” He slammed the door.

In the meantime, Jyn soaked her hands until they started tingling and flexed them through the dull ache of returning feeling. When the water began to cool, she poured it down the sink and dried off her hands, then changed into the softest clothes she’d packed and climbed into bed.

Of course there was only one, this being the cheapest room available, but for once it was more than big enough for both of them, and if she wanted they could both stretch out without impeding the other’s personal space. But she stayed as close to the edge of her chosen side as possible, hoping it would be enough for Cassian to join her on his side without hesitation.

She appreciated it at first– his apprehension around invading her personal space. It was certainly preferable to the opposite, but at a certain point she got tired of insisting over and over again that it was fine. It was like he didn’t believe her, or was afraid she’d change her mind at any second, deem him unworthy or something.

Which was ridiculous, of course. On more than one occasion she’d actually had to refrain from saying she actually felt _more_ than comfortable in close proximity to them. And she would actually be fine if they did it a bit more often–

She shook her head and scooted even closer to her edge of the bed. Now was not the time to entertain such fantasies. She should focus on other things– like how fucking _soft_ this pillow was, and how luxurious the quilts were, so soft her fingers barely felt them, but heavy enough to drape over her shoulders. And the mattress was one of the most comfortable she’d ever been on.

Nope, she would not let useless thoughts about Cassian spoil her enjoyment of this bed.

She heard the shower turn off and thought about pretending to be asleep. But then he might not even ask before pulling off a pillow and trying to sleep on the floor.

So she watched him emerge from the ‘fresher, his hair in dull wet spikes and his face flushed from the hot water. He paused halfway to the bed, staring at it as if it was prone to sudden movements.

“Comfortable?” he said, somehow managing to sound cold and distant while inquiring after her well-being.

“Extremely.” She rolled onto her back. “You should join me.” _Shit_. She pulled the duvet high over her face and hoped he didn’t see her cheeks redden.

“In a minute.” He walked past her and began fiddling with his pack.

She frowned. They were both exhausted and emotions were running a little high, but he seemed _nervous_ , of all things. “What’re you doing?”

“Nothing. I’m almost done.” He dropped whatever he was holding and walked over to the sink, where the now-empty bowl was resting. He turned it over on the counter. Then he walked back to his pack and began fidgeting again.

Maybe it was the sleep deprivation, but she’d never seen him behave this agitated. “Cassian, lie down.”

He didn’t turn to look at her. “One second.”

“ _Now_.”

“ _Okay_.” He spun on his heel and approached his side of the bed.

Up close, she could see the circles under his eyes and his thumb nervously worrying the sleeve of his shirt.

“Just… come on.” Against her better judgment, she shifted towards him, pulling back the covers to invite him in.

“All right.” He slid under the covers and immediately turned so he was facing away from her, lying at the very edge of the bed and his arms tucked close to his sides.

She could feel the tension in his body through the mattress.

“Cassian,” she whispered. “It’s okay, you can spread out.”

Only a twitch of his shoulder indicated he heard her.

“Chirrut would say it’s a waste if we sleep on this bed and aren’t comfortable.”

She’d never know why that worked, of all things, but it did. Cassian rolled over, so he was closer to the middle of the bed and facing her.

They stayed like that for almost a full minute (she could see the chrono), facing each other on the giant bed in the gloom, snowstorm still raging out the window.

“I’m sorry.” His eyes were darting all over the place, seemingly everywhere but on her. “There’s… been a lot on my mind.”

“It’s okay,” she said. She could feel him starting to relax. “We should get some rest.”

“We should.”

Her eyes lingered on him for a few more moments before she tore them away and moved onto her back, settling down and trying to forget that she was in a bed with _Cassian_ , actually possible because the bed was so big. Too big, actually. She didn’t _want_ to forget she was in a bed with Cassian.

She turned over again, so at least she could fall asleep watching him, knowing he was there.

To her surprise, he was already asleep, one arm stretched halfway out as if he was reaching towards her (foolishness, it probably just fell like that by accident), and she drifted off to the steady rise and fall of his chest, trying to memorize the way his eyelashes brushed his cheeks.

And when they woke up pressed together, somehow unable to stay apart even when they had the space, neither said a word. Although Jyn thought she caught Cassian hiding a smile as he ducked away to run a comb through his hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Original Tumblr Post](https://cats-and-metersticks.tumblr.com/post/181884946650/ficlet-room-at-the-inn)


	2. Cassian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yaaaay surprise sequel! In which Cassian tries (re: tries) to deal with his emotions.

It was becoming a problem. Cassian wasn’t sure what could be done about it, but something was going to have to happen soon, before he lost his mind, or did something incredibly stupid. 

He’d already done a couple stupid things. Like agreeing to go on missions with Jyn alone, when he knew he was compromised around her, when he knew it was harder to focus. He still cringed whenever he thought of that mission to Toloran, when he had to  _ share a bed with her _ . His most vivid memory from the entire operation was still waking up that morning, pressed up against her, having moved closer in the night. 

It was equally exhilarating and terrifying– to realize just how much control he’d lost around her, and how he didn’t want it to end. 

He would admit to himself in his more honest moments that his first thought upon waking was how he much didn’t want to move. The rush he felt the first time he inhaled with his nose pressed against her neck was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. It was barely a moment before he tore himself away to get dressed, but it made him giddy to think about it even now. 

Cassian swallowed and took a breath, refocusing on the present.

They were shipping out again tomorrow, to a somewhat remote city on Thisspias for some simple recon. Data collection, prospecting, gauging the potential for recruitment operations. So easy it barely justified two people, but at this point command had given up trying to separate them. He was figuring out the logistics of it now, which involved booking a hotel room for the two of them to stay. Not so unconsciously, his fingers hovered over the option for  _ requested number of beds or other resting apparatus _ . 

All logic, all rationality pushed him to indicate  _ two _ , but to the delight of his stupid heart, he hesitated and his imagination took off before he could stop it. What would it be like to wake up like that every morning? To fall asleep like that at night? It was the sort of life he’d never considered possible for himself, never thought he needed. 

He clenched his hand into a fist and pushed the thought away. It was wrong to imagine such things, even in the privacy of his closet of an office on Home I. And it was most certainly wrong to manipulate his relationship with Jyn in such a way. 

He pressed  _ two _ and moved on, trying to put the dilemma (which shouldn’t even be a dilemma) out of his mind. Not that it helped anything in the long run. The fact remained that he was still so gods-damned  _ aware _ of her all the time it drove him to distraction, and made everything more complicated in his mind than it should’ve been. 

Hunched over the control panel in the cockpit next to her, checking sensors and setting configurations, became an exercise of mental endurance– how long he could focus before getting distracted by something like the way her hair fell over her shoulder, or how their hands brushed on the controls. 

That evening, Kay informed him the answer was, “Eleven minutes and twenty seconds, on average. Although often much shorter, if you define  _ distraction _ as a period of inattention lasting more than five seconds.”

“That seems like a low bar,” Cassian muttered, shoving clothes and supplies into his bag the night before he was set to leave. Kay was recharging in the corner, sulking because he was on loan to Tonc this cycle. 

“Your average used to be forty minutes and thirteen seconds,” he said, not bothering to hide his disappointment. “You  _ used _ to possess an unusually long attention span, for a human.” 

Cassian didn’t bother to respond to that, but the next morning as he went through pre-flight checks with Jyn in the co-pilot’s seat, in a rhythm they’d established so solidly it almost felt choreographed, he reflected that he  _ used _ to be a lot of things. 

 

The flight went smoothly, if a little quiet. Normally, Cassian loved the quiet. He was used to it, with Kay, and normally spent the time studying his cover or rereading the mission brief. But Jyn, he realized, was someone with whom he actually enjoyed having a conversation. 

He pretended to be busy, reading from his datapad, fiddling with various panels on the ship, but honestly spent most of the time thinking of ways to start a conversation, then not following through. Every opener he could think of felt either too personal or too boring, which frustrated him because he should be better at this. Half his job was having conversations with people. 

For her part, Jyn didn’t seem uncomfortable with the silence, killing time in her own ways– napping, reading up on the mission, watching holodramas illegally downloaded on her datapad. She didn’t seem interested in talking, yet another reason for him to keep his mouth shut. The silence made the trip seem longer than it was, and although he was sorely tempted on multiple occasions, Cassian never broke it. 

He checked them into the hotel after a short walk from the landing pad and they trudged up the stairs without speaking. 

Jyn got to the door first and unlocked it. Although technically a double, it was smaller than the one on Toloran and the furnishings sparser. More like what they were used to. 

Cassian followed her inside, and he would swear he wasn’t imagining the chill radiating from her shoulders as she tossed her bag on the bed closer to the door. 

“Dibs.” 

He ground his teeth. Not that she wasn’t capable of defending herself, but he was the lead on this mission and technically her superior, so he had every right to that bed. But he wasn’t in the mood to fight, and even if he was it was probably a lost cause with Jyn in such a mood. 

He couldn’t for the life of him think of what could be bothering her. As he unpacked, he tried to observe her, looking for clues as to what could be on her mind. But by the time she disappeared into the ‘fresher to change and sonic he had nothing. It was an unfamiliar feeling for him. 

He shook his head and changed, sliding under the blankets with his datapad. Although clearly meant for only one human, the bed was still quite a bit larger than he was used to. His first thought was that it felt rather empty, but he quickly shoved that away and stared extra hard at the text on the screen. 

He didn’t look up when Jyn emerged, although he had to bite his lip at the thought of her with her hair down and dressed in thin, soft sleeping clothes. He heard her sigh and sit down on her own bed, trying desperately not to imagine (again) the bed on Toloran. 

It was useless, and when he finally refocused on the words on his datapad, he gave up, having absorbed exactly none of it after ten minutes of staring. He was lucky this mission was barely more than a milk run. This level of distraction would be a major problem otherwise.

 

* * *

 

According to plan, they split up the next morning, for which Cassian was almost grateful. Jyn was headed downtown to scout the local residences and storefronts while he cased the government buildings. It was a cover he was well used to– a nameless, faceless bureaucrat that came in with some excuse to speak to the local governor, looked maybe a bit too closely at the names on all the offices and positions of security cameras, then left barely a blip on anyone’s radar. 

He shed the cover within half a klick of the building, moving his blaster from the holster hidden in his jacket to one on his leg, then removing the jacket and turning his bag inside out. A hand through his carefully combed hair to muss it and he looked like any other traveler browsing the afternoon market where he was due to meet Jyn. 

She fell into step beside him like a true intelligence agent, so naturally that he doubted anyone around them had noticed them. She matched him perfectly in dress and gait, but the air still felt chilly to him, in a way he suspected was not an act. Had their cover been different, maybe he would’ve found an excuse to mention it, but they were only posing as traveling partners. They didn’t need to be friendly. 

They stayed together at first, but drifted apart as the street widened to cover more of the market. Selfishly, Cassian let Jyn wander ahead, so he could keep half an eye on her while she wandered from stall to stall. Her cover wasn’t terribly far from who she really was, and she looked with real interest at some of the weapons laid out for sale. 

At one point, she paused and without thinking about it, Cassian stopped too. He was captivated by the way she worked, examining each piece with a critical eye. He could tell the merchant was trying to sell her something, unaware that she knew more than he did about his wares, and spinning a pitch riddled with exaggerations and false claims. Cassian wished he could see her face as she listened, wondering whether she would tell him off directly or casually pass on a piece he tried to pass off as one-of-kind. 

“Hey!”

Cassian jumped and whirled around, hand halfway to his blaster. He cursed his loss of focus and forced himself to relax before two angry-looking devaronians. One of them was the merchant outside of whose stall he’d been loitering, and the other her muscle, standing rather too close for comfort with two sizeable truncheons strapped to his back. 

“Buy something or move along,” the merchant said. 

Cassian held up his hands and stepped back. “Apologies.”

“You got anything in your pockets?”

“No–”

“Show me.”

He turned them inside out. “See? Nothing.”

The merchant narrowed her eyes. “Search him.”

Cassian clenched his teeth, but held still as he was patted down. Stupid. He’d been stupid and careless. Every second this wasted took away from the mission, away from watching his partner’s back. 

“Sigea.” The muscle pulled the small vibroblade from his boot and tossed it on the counter, where to his dismay Cassian saw several more for sale of the same size and model. 

“I knew he was a thief.” 

“Now wait–” The blade wasn’t that valuable, and with any luck Cassian could just leave it with them and call it even. 

But he was never lucky.

“I don’t stand for thieves at my counter,” Sigea said, as her associate reached back for one of his truncheons. 

Cassian managed to dodge the first swing, but found himself on his back after a well-placed shove to his chest. He gasped for a second, the breath knocked out of him, before trying to scramble backwards. 

“Listen, I’m very sorry–” He grunted and ducked another swing of the truncheon. “I’m sure we can come to an understanding–”

“Shut him up,” Sigea said. 

Cassian abruptly decided to stop wasting his breath and attempted to roll away, but the devaronian clamped a heavy boot on his shoulder. He couldn’t suppress a cry of pain and hoped to the Force he didn’t hear something break. 

Pulse throbbing in his shoulder, he braced himself for the next hit before the weight was abruptly lifted. 

He opened his eyes and squinted, the hulking figure from before replaced by another one– smaller, but no less imposing. 

“Ziare?” 

She ignored him, instead facing the merchant. “The knife’s his, you  _ di’kut _ .”

“How do you–“

“It’s dull as a post and the hilt’s chipped in three places, so unless you’re in the business of selling damaged goods…” Jyn grabbed the knife and allowed herself a brief smirk before turning back to Cassian. “Get up.” She offered him a hand. “We’re running late.”

He took it with his good arm and hurried to follow her, biting the inside of his mouth against the pain of his shoulder as it jarred with every step. 

“What the kriff happened?” she hissed once they were a good distance away. “You could’ve gotten hurt.” 

“I’m fine.” He released his left arm from where he’d been holding it against his chest, then gasped and brought it back. 

“Fuck, you  _ are _ hurt.”

“It’s nothing.” 

“Gods dammit.” She abruptly changed directions. 

Cassian stumbled to follow her. “What’re you doing?”

“We’re going back to the hotel.”

“Come on–“

“High five?” Jyn held up her right hand. 

He growled and stopped protesting. It was no less than he deserved. His lack of focus had gotten the better of him, putting them both in danger and resulting in a pointless injury. He could only be thankful it was him and not Jyn, although he could not allow that to happen again. 

This time, he resolved, he’d request new partners for both of them. 

 

“Yep, broken clavicle.” Jyn made a face at their medscanner, tilting her head at the readout while keeping Cassian supine on his bed. “Cracked in two places, maybe three.” She shook it a couple times. “You should probably have Kalonia look at it though.” 

“Ugh.” Despite the painkillers he’d allowed Jyn to administer, his entire shoulder was a throbbing mass of pain, which spiked if he so much as moved his wrist. An ugly, footprint-shaped bruise was already forming, vaguely visible through the swelling. Cassian was pretty sure the situation couldn’t be any worse. It was bad enough an easy mission went sideways because he was distracted, an injury bad enough to need a medic was like rubbing it in his face.

Jyn sat back. “Are you in pain?”

“No.” 

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be like that.”

“Like what?” 

“You know what.” She gave him another shot. “What were you thinking, anyway? Tangling with devaronians just for fun?”

“It was a misunderstanding.” Cassian closed his eyes and prayed she wouldn’t press him further. He could feel whatever Jyn was originally mad about still simmering under the surface, and he was less than eager to discuss it now. 

“Well forgive me if I’m curious.” She huffed and turned away, reaching down to dig through the medkit. “Whatever. We have most of the standard stabilizers, but you know collarbones are tricky. I’m going to try to do my best with what I’ve got. Let me know if you feel any grinding.” 

 

* * *

 

That night, his left arm set with a bewildering combination of stabilizers, Cassian was left staring at the ceiling in the dark. Jyn was there, across the yawning gap that was the space between their beds, curled up under the blankets. By all appearances, asleep. 

Cassian wished he could sleep. But his hopes weren’t high, not least because he found it difficult to get comfortable while flat on his back. It was a bit too reminiscent of medbays for his taste, and made him feel a little too exposed. But mostly, there was too much on his mind to fall asleep.

Jyn was clearly still upset about something, but reluctant to talk about it. Maybe it was just something about him, or working with him. She was tired of it, or worse, had realized his feelings and felt awkward about it. Whatever it was, he had to go through with the reassignment, then get his head on straight.

He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to push through the reality of what that meant. Logically, it wasn’t a big deal. He used to get new partners all the time. This shouldn’t be any different. 

Kriff, who was he kidding. Of course it was different. It was Jyn. 

He rubbed his face with his free hand. It was probably going to take far more than a reassignment to get his head straight again. 

Having come to that dissatisfying conclusion, he adjusted the pillow under his head and tried to fall asleep. He thought he’d just about managed it when he heard a sound from Jyn’s bed. 

“Hey,” he whispered. “Are you awake?” 

There was some shuffling. “No.”

He frowned. Her voice sounded strange… thin, somehow. “Are you okay?”

“Go to sleep, Cassian.” 

That wasn’t an answer. “Just let me know you’re okay.” 

“I’m okay.” 

Her voice cracked on the last word and Cassian was sure she was crying. “Jyn?”

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s not.” Anything that made her cry was not nothing. 

She sniffled, and he heard her breath hitch. “I just don’t want it to end.”

“You don’t want what to end?” What was she talking about? 

“ _ It _ . Working together. Doing missions.” 

Her voice was tight, braced for rejection, but Cassian felt like he could breathe again. “Neither do I.” 

She picked at the bedspread. He could hear her nails pulling on the thread.  _ Snap. Snap. Snap. _ “You’re pushing me away.”

“No, I’m not.”

“You are.”

“I don’t want to.” The truth slipped out before he could stop it and he clamped his lips shut, grateful Jyn couldn’t see his burning face. 

“Could’ve fooled me.” 

“I don’t. Jyn, I–“ He searched his brain for something he could say to make her believe him. 

“It’s okay.” She was crying again. 

Her voice was so small at the end he almost couldn’t hear her. 

“It’s okay,” she said again. “It’s okay.” A few choked sobs escaped this time and Cassian decided enough was enough. 

Clamping his teeth to the inside of his lip, he pushed himself up on one arm and swung his legs over the side of the bed. His head spun a little, courtesy of the pain meds, but it passed quickly and he stumbled over to Jyn’s bed. 

“Cass, what’re you–?”

“Scoot over.” He nudged her side, knees already shaking with exhaustion and pain.

“What–“

“Please.” 

She did, and he sank gratefully down next to her. 

“I don’t know how to tell you,” he said. “But I really, really don’t want to push you away.” 

He heard her swallow, their faces so close her breath warmed his neck. “Why not?”

“I l-“ He stopped himself. Coward. “I don’t want to be alone.” 

“You’re not.” She shifted closer, somehow angling the mattress under them just right so his shoulder hurt a little less. 

“Without you. I don’t want to be without you.”

“Me neither, but I thought… I can’t force you to feel the same,” she whispered.

His heart fluttered with a stubborn, stupid hope. “You don’t have to.”

He felt her arms wrap carefully around him. “Then why’d you get us separate beds?” 

“I… wasn’t sure how you felt,” he said. “I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“That’s very kind of you,” she said into his arm.

He took a deep breath. “You’re not upset about Toloran?”

“No,” she said. “I thought you were.”

“Just the opposite.” He let his eyes close, drawing circles across her shoulder blades with his fingers.

“Good.” She relaxed into his touch. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.”

“Me neither.” he said. 

“Really?”

“I was distracted, watching you, when that merchant accused me of stealing.” 

Her thumb brushed one of the stabilizers. “I hope you learned your lesson.”

“Yes.” He held her tighter. “Keep you closer next time.” 

She smiled against his ribs. “As long as there’s a next time.” 

“Promise.” He fell asleep to the feeling of her lips on his chest. 

And when they woke still pressed together, his nose nestled in her hair, he wished he could bottle that feeling, so he could save it forever. It felt just like that morning on Toloran, except her arms were tight around him, and he never had to tear himself away.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading!!
> 
> Come say hi on tumblr, I'm [cats-and-metersticks](https://cats-and-metersticks.tumblr.com/)


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